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Sorghum-Grown Fungal Biocatalysts for Synthetic Dye Degradation

Summary

This research developed an eco-friendly method using mushroom fungi grown on sorghum grain to clean up toxic dyes from textile factory wastewater. The fungal system effectively broke down various industrial dyes into less harmful substances and could be reused multiple times, making it both environmentally and economically beneficial. Impacts on everyday life: • Provides a greener solution for treating colored wastewater from clothing and textile manufacturing • Helps reduce water pollution and environmental contamination from textile dyes • Offers a cost-effective alternative to current chemical treatment methods • Demonstrates sustainable use of agricultural products (sorghum) for environmental cleanup • Could lead to cleaner water supplies in areas with textile manufacturing

Background

The textile dyeing industry discharges nearly 11 million tons of dye-polluted wastewater into aquatic systems, accounting for about 20% of textile industrial pollution. Current physicochemical treatment methods can be inefficient, costly, and generate secondary pollutants. Using microbes and their enzymes to biodegrade synthetic dyes offers a potentially safer and cost-effective alternative, with recent research focusing on fungi for wastewater treatment applications.

Objective

The study aimed to develop an efficient and environmentally friendly biocatalyst system using solid substrate-immobilized fungi and investigate its performance in treating individual dye compounds, synthetic textile wastewater (STWW), and real textile wastewater (RTWW) effluent. Additional objectives included identifying degradation products, examining enzyme stability under various conditions, and assessing reusability in sequential batch experiments.

Results

P. ostreatus grown on sorghum (PO-SORG) showed the highest laccase activity (1.60 U/g average) and demonstrated superior structural stability. The biocatalyst achieved removal efficiencies of 93% for RB-19, 95% for Indigo Carmine, 95% for Acid Orange 7, and 78% for Acid Red 1. PO-SORG maintained effectiveness in complex wastewater matrices and showed high stability under extreme temperatures. Over 85% removal of RB-19 was achieved after three consecutive batch cycles.

Conclusion

The developed PO-SORG biocatalyst system successfully degraded various dye compounds in both synthetic and real wastewater conditions. The material demonstrated excellent reusability, stability under varying conditions, and sustainability, offering considerable potential for treating wastewater streams containing synthetic organic dyes. The findings support PO-SORG as a practical and robust biocatalyst for textile wastewater treatment.
  • Published in:Water Research X,
  • Study Type:Laboratory Research,
  • Source: 10.1016/j.wroa.2023.100181
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